This invention relates to ultrasonic diagnostic imaging systems and, in particular, to ultrasonic diagnostic imaging systems which incorporate both a two dimensional (2D) beamformer and a three dimensional (3D) beamformer.
Until recently the clinical practice of ultrasonic diagnostic imaging has been the province of ultrasound systems which make two dimensional (2D) images of planes scanned by a transducer probe. The performance of such 2D ultrasound imaging systems has continually improved, reaching today""s current levels of high image quality and high frame rates of display. The high frame rates provided by current ultrasound systems have enabled virtually any acoustically accessible region of the body to be scanned by real time imaging.
Over the past decade ultrasound designers have begun to address the prospect of producing 3D images rather than 2D images. Initially these efforts have attempted to utilize current 2D scan converters and image processors to produce 3D displays, such as the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,842. This and other systems in the marketplace would require the user to acquire multiple 2D images from a region of the body, then submit the data to an onboard or offline processor, which would post-process the ultrasound data to produce a 3D display.
With the success of these initial post-processing systems designers have begun to develop real time 3D ultrasound systems, in which the acquired 3D information may be displayed in real time (live as it is acquired). However the initial efforts in this regard are proving to be very expensive, as designers try to provide 3D images with the same image quality as today""s 2D images in specially-designed 3D imaging machines. Accordingly it is desirable to provide an affordable means for ultrasound users to move up to 3D capabilities without losing their investments previously made in 2D ultrasound imaging systems.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an ultrasound system having a 2D beamformer is upgradeable to 3D imaging capability by the addition of a 3D beamformer. The upgrade may occur at the time of manufacture, for instance, when the customer opts for the optional 3D beamformer, or later in time when the customer desires to upgrade the 2D imaging system to 3D capability. In an illustrated embodiment, the upgrade is performed by adding 3D beamformer integrated circuits or printed circuit boards to the ultrasound system. In the illustrated embodiment the 2D and 3D beamformers share a common controller, which connects scanheads to the appropriate beamformer. Preferably the 2D beamformer exhibits higher performance characteristics, thereby enabling the use of lower-cost components for the 3D beamformer, and allowing the more sensitive diagnostic procedures to be imaged with the greater image quality which is expected of the 2D beamformer.